Viewing posts tagged travel
Officially, it is the first day, but it is mostly check-in and finishing setup. I went to the NTS dinner at the Skybox, but didn't feel like chatting, and it was mostly field organization folks there, of which I only knew the few Europeans. They had beer (yes, real beer,) but I went there by car and didn't drink any. And the soda pops tasted like chlorine. At least I found two paperback novels and a CD at the Gateway plaza...
Got up a bit later today, packed my things, drove to the gas station -- those bastards almost ripped me off. Usually, when you go to a gas station in the US which takes credit cards but requires you to see the cashier, you just authorize a certain amount of money and they'll invoice only the amount you've actually spent. However, this one invoiced the whole "deposit" and gave me back the rest of the money in cash only after I asked. Luckily, I always request a receipt of the actual amount.
Hooray, I found a Krispy Kream in Orem! I was tempted to buy half a dozen box of doughnuts, but as I'm already too fat, I only took three. Which was a good decision, as I ate them all yesterday evening. Their doughnuts are excellent!
Despite getting on the road late yesterday, I actually did everything I had in mind for my (shortened) weekend program. First, I went to Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park to hike through the dunes and shoot some photos. Here's one:
I had no further problems with the flight, even the security screening took half the time (no wonder, with the double amount of open screening stations...) But I'm still annoyed as I have to drop the one-day roadtrip to Monument Valley due to the delays...
I'm sitting here in an (moderately) overpriced hotel in Denver instead of the Novell condo in Provo. Didn't catch my connection, United at least booked me to the first flight tomorrow but refuses to pay for the room or even to help me to find one. They told me to complain to Lufthansa. Lufthansa apparently does not have any bureau at Denver, just ticketing, which closes at 5 PM. Anyway, I'm going to apply a high-quality LART to the travel agency -- they should know that 90 Minutes to switch flights isn't enough in Denver -- as the baggage crew is incredibly slow and the TSA thought that three counters are enough for approximately one thousand people (the number is not exaggerated.)
My parents are here for the weekend, and after we went to the zoo of Nürnberg yesterday, we drove to Hohenstein-Ernstthal, the place where my great-grandfather was born. Admittedly, the town is better known for being the birth place of someone a bit more famous: German writer Karl May. Hohenstein is a nicely restored little town with some old buildings. It definately deserves a lot more recognition by tourists.
The photos I've shot in my spare time before and after Brainshare are online now, enjoy by clicking on this picture: